The present invention relates to a method of cooling and heating buildings and structures that does not require direct external energy sources.
In warm sunny climates, air conditioning or other mechanical means for cooling dwellings, office buildings and any other structure that needs to be maintained below a critical temperature consumes significant energy, places high stress on the electrical power infrastructure and increases harmful emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, depending on the sources of power.
While there are alternative technologies for generating power without producing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, they constitute only a small fraction of the total electrical power produced worldwide. Further, it is expected that such sources of power will grow slowly, and require significant capital investments to replace fossil fueled power plants. Currently, there are few alternative energy systems devoted to cooling structures.
Accordingly, it would be of great benefit to provide a means of reducing the need for electric power, and in particular, in climates where power is needed for cooling buildings using standard air conditioning technology.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a means for cooling buildings and structures without using additional power.
It is a further object of the invention to reduce electrical or other power consumption used to cool buildings or structures to desired temperature ranges using less air conditioning or other mechanical cooling systems.
It is a further object of the invention to reduce electrical or other power consumption/generation and the associated carbon emissions.